Andy Murray is happy to be mocked

Mark Hodgkinson

Thursday, 12 July 2012

There aren’t many beaten grand slam finalists who would wipe their tears on their sleeve and then head to the filming of a comedy panel show. Somewhere where they are likely to be “picked on”. There are few more appealing character traits than the ability to laugh at yourself, and so all those who have changed their minds recently about Andy Murray, after he wept on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, might now like him even more after he dared to accept an invitation to sit in the audience for the BBC’s Mock the Week.

Just a couple of days after Murray lost to Roger Federer, he was in the studio, and the show was broadcast on Thursday evening. For those who didn’t realise already, the past few days have demonstrated two truths about Andy Murray: he can cry, he can take a joke (the director kept cutting to shots of Murray and his girlfriend Kim Sears laughing).

“Keep it light when discussing the final,” the host said after informing the comedians around him that Murray was sitting near the back of the studio. And perhaps the teasing was more gentle than it would otherwise have been for Murray, who was given a standing ovation. “The three most emotional things I’ve seen on the television,” said one of the panel, “are Terms of Endearment, Philadelphia and Andy Murray trying so hard in his speech not to call Roger Federer a bastard.” Between rounds, one of the regulars behind the desk put a towel over his head and peeled a banana. And there were a number of references to how Ivan Lendl has no emotional range in the players’ gallery. “This is Ivan Lendl happy,” said one comic, and keeping the same non-expression, “this is Ivan Lendl sad.”

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The Independent newspaper had it right this week when they identified KIm Sears as “the new tabloid obsession”. Lo and behold, Grazia magazine published their guide to getting hair like Kim Sears (it apparently involves some back-combing and hair-spray). Still, Grazia will probably tell you that they have been closely watching Kim for a while – during the Wimbledon fortnight they wondered whether Kim was stealing the Duchess of Cambridge’s territory by daring to have good hair.